1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a food slicer apparatus and a knife therefor and, more particularly to a knife that disturbs the airflow adjacent the perimeter thereof and precludes the buildup of food particulates on the knife surface.
2. Information Disclosure Statement
In preparing for this application, a pre-examination patentability search was conducted. In performing the search, the following fields and periods covered by the search were examined.
______________________________________ CLASS/SUBCLASS PERIOD COVERED ______________________________________ 30/347 03/19/1907 to 05/28/1991 83/676 06/27/1839 to 01/15/1991 ______________________________________
The search, which reviewed several subclasses of Classes 38 and 83, uncovered the following patents:
______________________________________ ISSUE ITEM NO. U.S. PAT. NO. INVENTOR DATE ______________________________________ 1 1,120,270 A. Brussolo 12/08/1914 2 1,630,945 A. Jacobowitz 05/31/1927 3 2,531,841 F. J. Cashin 11/28/1950 4 2,735,468 X. B. K. Green 02/21/1956 et al. 5 3,872,763 I. Kayahara 03/25/1975 6 4,891,885 R. R. Fischer et al. 01/09/1990 ______________________________________
In considering the various patents uncovered, the patent to Brussolo '270 teaches a slicer blade having the general profile of that of the common slicer blade. Brussolo '270 further teaches an edge formed by closely spaced grooves with those on the front face alternating with those on the back face with the purpose of maintaining knife sharpness. The patent to Cashin, Cashin '841, is a variant of this, in that a knife for a book block trimmer has V-shaped grooves about the perimeter. Here the purpose is the ejection of debris from the cutting site. This teaching is the antithesis of the disclosure at hand insofar as the present disclosure teaches a means of separating the knife from the food being cut.
Next items 5 and 6 above, namely, Kayahara '763 and Fischer '885 are considered. The knife of Fischer '885 is of interest as detail in FIGS. 8 and 9 thereof. The Kayahara '763 patent shows a series of apertures in an annular configuration arrayed along the outer portion of the saw blade adjacent the cutting edge. In both of these patents, the teachings are for different purposes than those of the present disclosure, to wit, in the case of the scalloped edge, to maintain sharpness; and in the case of the apertured edge, to maintain thermal stability. Here again there is no application or teaching toward a food slicer of the type presented hereinbelow.
In the past, food slicing machines, especially of the gravity-fed type, experience when slicing gummy or greasy foods, such as cheeses or meats, the accumulation of waste particulate matter in the area adjacent the cutting edge of the knife. This condition is often exacerbated during the back stroke of the reciprocating chute.